February 15, 2013

Part 2: A Mac Instead Of Windows 8 -Software

This is the second part of a two
part series about how Windows users contemplating the shift to Windows 8 might
find the world of Apple if they choose to buy a Macintosh instead of upgrade to Windows 8. The first part
was on hardware. This piece covers
software, the “Cloud,” and a few other considerations.

While there are more cross
platform applications out there than there were a few years ago, the ones you
need, might not work the way you expect on a Mac. I am a big fan of SnagIt from Techsmith. It works well on both Macs and Windows. Yet there is one issue. While Snagit on Windows works with my
favorite cross-platform mail application, PostBox, it will
only work with Apple’s
Mail app on Mac OS X. I am not a fan of
Apple's Mail program. This kind of thing is one of those gotchas that can make moving to a new
platform irritating so you need to check apps that are important to you.

If you come over to Apple and end up using Apple’s iPhoto to manage your photos, you
might find some options gone for political reasons. Sharing is built in iPhoto for Facebook,
Flickr, and Twitter but not for Picasa web albums. Apple does not like Google
so you have to buy a third party plug-in or use a browser to get you photos
uploaded. iPhoto also creates a
proprietary library of your photos instead of just pointers to JPEGs. You could just switch to Picasa on the Mac,
but then there is no way to get your photos into Apple's iCloud without doing some scripting or
owning an iOS device.

One of the things you need
to accept when moving to Apple is that Apple wants you to do things a certain
way and deviating from the chosen path usually causes some sort of pain. That
is even the case in software.

If Microsoft Office is
your standard office suite, you likely know there is a new version out for
Windows Computers. I just subscribed to Office 365 for
$99 per year. The last version for the
Macintosh was released in 2011. While the files are supposed to move back and
forth without problems, my experience is that there are always a few little things
that do not work or there is an extra space here or there.

However, there is some
good news on the Office front for the Mac.
The latest update from Microsoft resulted in a dramatic speed increase
in loading the Office apps on my new Mac Mini.
That is good since no one is really sure when there will be a new Office for the Mac. The rumor that Microsoft might bring Office to Linux seems more promising than the
statement that no new Office is planned for the Mac.

The one other thing that I have noticed is that after using Office 365 a lot and moving back to Office on the Mac, I am having trouble finding things. I am a casual Office user so it might just reflect that, but it is enough of a problem that I now use Teamviewer to control my PC from the Mac so I can use Office 365 instead of Office 2011 on the Mac.

Beyond Office, even some
Mac users are questioning how much attention Apple is paying to their own
software. Pages, Numbers, and Keynote (Apple's iWork suite of productivity apps) have not seen a major update in their desktop versions since 2009. Jason Grady writing for ZDNet
had the following comment.

“Instead Apple proceeds with
its release and abandon strategy. Release
iWork into the market with great fanfare and starve it until it eventually
dies. What makes matters worse is that Apple will not comment on its iWork
roadmap. Not even a 'we're working on it.' Nothing.”

Apple has even dropped
iDVD which makes sense inside the Apple world since Apple is moving away from
DVDs. However, many of us still use DVDs.
Tidbits which has been publishing information about
the Mac on the web and using Macs in their workflow for 22 years recently said of Apple,
“Apple
software —
from iOS 6 to Pages 4.3 — has been falling down. Great
hardware, increasingly sloppy software.”

If the “Cloud"
is important to you, you should be aware that Apple has struggled with its
vision for the Cloud. Apple has changed its Cloud strategy multiple times with
the result that many no longer trust Apple's with their data. Also Apple’s current iCloud implementation is
very different than other vendors' Clouds. It takes some getting used to and it
is hard to escape since it is built into the OS.

I still find there are some very good apps on the Mac. I use RapidWeaver for web development and Pixelmator for graphics. Sometimes I will write with Nisus Writer Express. It depends on my mood. As for utilities, Fetch is still my favorite FTP client.

Apple’s apps
and a few other applications like PIxelmator have the ability to save to iCloud if the software vendor has chosen to market their software through Apple's app store. However, even those other non-Apple apps which can save to Apple's iCloud save to
someplace invisible in Apple's iCloud.
You can find a hidden folder on your Mac which shows you what is there
but it takes some digging. You cannot see those files when you log into iCloud
with a browser like you can the iWork files. It is a weird concept.
Of course the apps know that the files are there but if you want to open the file with another app, you are out of luck. Apple just figures that there are
things you don't need to know or do. It is one of the things you need to accept if you plan to go to a Mac.

Beyond software, you need to consider setup. In spite of the Mac's reputation for ease of use. Setup on a new Mac can sometimes be not so easy as I found out. I have brought up a lot of Macs over the years and my most recent one was not any fun.

There is no doubt that Apple has an App store with far more software than Microsoft, but there is a downside to the app store. Apple's OS strategy
also revolves around that same App Store and my experience is
that it is a work in progress. In setting
up two new Windows 8 machines and my new Mac Mini, I found the Windows 8
machines required much less of my attention.
If you opt for a Mac and have even a decent Internet connection prepare
for some long downloads. I have TimeWarner cable and a 4.8 GB OS backup
download took eight hours. Most updates
you can have automatically applied but I still have to manually apply all the
ones from Microsoft for Office on the Mac.

You will find support and repair are not as accessible to Mac owners.

Using a Macintosh is great until something goes wrong and you will quickly find
that people who really know Macs are harder to find than knowledgeable Windows
people. If you live outside a major
metro area, be prepared to drive to the nearest Apple store for repair or face
to face support. There are far fewer Apple repair centers around than Windows
ones. It used to be the answer to most
Mac problems was reinstall the operating system. That is not as easy to do now
that install DVDs are gone. You can make one of your USB thumb drives a backup OS X installer, but my experience has shown that can have
some challenges. I had to buy third party software to create one for my Mac Mini.

Little things like navigating your computer will be different on the Mac.

When you are using a computer, the file system becomes very important. Do not
let someone convince you the Mac OS X Mountain Lion is more like Windows 7 than
Windows 8. I have used Macs for 28 years
and I find the latest version of OS X Mountain Lion the most confusing yet. It is
powerful and has a lot to like, but there is also a lot to learn. It has taken me just as long to get up to speed on it as it did for me to figure out Windows 8.

Apple decided with their
previous Lion release that the command "Save As" is not a good thing.
Some apps no longer have that command but now in Mountain Lion you can get it
back if you hold down the “option” key when you go to the file
menu. Still the new “Duplicate” and “Move”
commands can be confusing. Macs also do
not remember the last place you saved something like Windows. You can buy third party
software like Default Folder
X to fix that, but it is still not quite as easy to find
something on a Mac. Navigating around a Mac can be confusing especially when
Apple decides to hides important things like the user library.

There are some very neat things
on the Mac like AirDrop and AirPlay
which require other Macs or more Apple hardware like AppleTV before you enjoy them. Windows Media Center works pretty well with
existing Windows 7 machines so that is not too different since both platforms want you to stick with one platform.

The last worry is
security. I've used both platforms for over 8 years. Since MS introduced their
security program, that is the only security program I have used. I have had no
virus or worm problems on either platform, you just have to practice safe computing. At one time this was a huge advantage for the Mac. Now it is not so much.

All this boils down to a
move to the Mac will mean lots of changes especially in the way you view your
computer vendor. If you are coming to
the Mac, you need to believe Apple knows best or you will never be comfortable. Just like you cannot fight city hall, you likely will not be able to fight Apple. Is it any different in the Windows world. I would argue that Apple would not put up with an app like Start8 which brings back the old Windows Start Menu, but maybe I am wrong. They did relent a little on "Save As."

The Mac platform has some
great capabilities, but you will have to work to master them. The way you do things on a Mac is a little different. My conclusion is that
moving to Windows 8 is the best course for most Windows users. The learning
curve on the Mac is substantial for a Windows user. However, I encourage you to weigh what I have presented, talk to Mac users and make your own decision. Everyone's needs are different. What works for me, might not even fit your desk. :-)

However, for many Windows users it might just be easier to
stay the course with Windows and buy a new Windows 8 machine.

The simple addition of the $4.99 Start8 utility can make the Windows 8 experience a
lot like the old Windows. Once you have
done that, you can choose to ignore the parts of Windows 8 that don’t fit
the way you work.

I would not let anyone scare me away from Windows 8. I am not having any
trouble using it. I have it on two machines. One has a touch screen and the other has only a mouse. I am betting Microsoft will listen to customers and make it
better like they did with Vista.

Windows 8 is powerful and
very fast. When I boot both my Mac Mini
and Lenovo tower, even I if start the Mac Mini first, I usually have several
Windows applications launched before the Mac Mini even makes it to the desktop.

On my most recent startup,
I turned my Mac Mini on first. By the time the Mac Mini had gotten to the
desktop and launched Chrome, I had turned on the Windows 8 machine and launched the following programs on Windows
8.

Chrome

Firefox

SnagIt

Postbox (all my mail was
also retrieved)

Picasa

Excel

Word

Lightroom

Trillian

Opera

The Lenovo tower has 8 GBs
of RAM. The Mac Mini has 16 GBs of RAM.
Both systems have standard SATA hard drives and I5 processors.